CFNIS Investigating Reported Death of Kids from UXO in AFG

[The Bread Guy]

MSM links below.....

Two Afghans killed and two wounded by explosion
NATO news release PR# 2009-178, 23 Feb 09
News release link

Elders from a village located approximately 15 km west of Kandahar City alleged today that two local children were killed and two were wounded when unexploded ordnance they were handling detonated. It is alleged that the unexploded ordnance was left behind by ISAF soldiers who were conducting a practice range exercise in the area the day prior, however the nature of the munition involved has yet to be determined.

“Any civilian death is regrettable and our thoughts go to the families in these trying moments,” said Brigadier-General Richard Blanchette, ISAF Spokesperson. “ISAF has very strict policies in place that prohibit leaving behind any unexploded ordnance and make every effort to ensure the safety of Afghan civilians. Qualified personnel conduct detailed examination and complete sweeps of range sites prior to departing to ensure that the range area is completely safe for both ISAF and ANSF soldiers as well as local village members and infrastructure. This incident is currently under investigation.”

ISAF operates a vigorous educational campaign aimed at informing and encouraging Afghans not to handle any suspicious objects or clearly identified unexploded ordnance on the ground. 

Gotta say shame on CNN for the initial version (11:48am) of their story on this one:

Villagers in southern Afghanistan stacked the bodies of two dead children in front of a provincial council Monday to protest their deaths in a rocket attack.  The villagers blamed Canadian rockets for killing the children and injuring five men, but their claims could not immediately be verified.  Canadian authorities are investigating, said Maj. Wance White, spokesman for the Canadian Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, which assists the Afghan government and its citizens....

Other source links shared with CNN - we'll see what they do with them.

More from Canadian Press, CanWest, CBC and Globe & Mail

 

[brihard]

EDIT: Hm, maybe saying more than I should here, so I'll err on the side of caution. Disregard.

 

[The Bread Guy]

A few more versions of the narrative out there now:

.... Some media sources reported the children were killed when a missile hit a house in the Panjwai village. Five other people were injured.  However Canadian media reported that the children may have died when an unexploded bomb detonated as they searched for scrap metal in the Panjwai valley. A local police chief said the deaths may have been caused by a Taliban attack ....

Nothing spotted yet on English-language jihadist sites from the Taliban - and I'd be surprised if they didn't take advantage of this with their own.... revisionist? ... version.

Also, no change to the CNN story as of this posting.

 

[brihard]

Well, since they were firing their tank cannon at a cliff side in literally the exact opposite direction of Salehan (I was watching as we drove by on Sunday), I think the first possibility can be discounted. Since the whole area is strewn with mines and legacy UXO, the second is quite possible, and since Salehan is largely sympathetic to the Taliban, the third case as unlikely as the first.

Odds are the kids found some UXO. Tragic of course, but not something that ought to be laid at our feet. I've not once seen any locals present in the actual area of ground that they were using for the range. They don't even graze their goats there.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Update:  One more child has died in hospital and CIDA apparently dropped by the area late last year (Canadian Press video of visit).

 

[The Bread Guy]

Stopwar.ca's blog shares its spin misrepresentation selective reading of information version of this as well.

 

[ex-Sup]

Apparently it was old UXO and not Canadian.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090302/explosion_investigation_090302/20090302?hub=TopStories

 

[geo]

Apparently ... but not much in the way of proof to that effect.  The Afghan people we need to convince .... aren't

 

[The Bread Guy]

ISAF statement:  “…. Brigadier-General Jon Vance, the commander of Canadian troops in Kandahar province, said the explosive did not belong to his soldiers, who held a range practice in the area the day before the tragedy.  “The burden of proof and experience in this part of the province places the likelihood of harming people with explosives squarely on the shoulders of the insurgency, not on the shoulders of Canadians” said Vance ….”

CF statement:  “…. Preliminary findings, based on the evidence collected, witness interviews and analysis of explosive residue by in-theatre explosives experts, determined that the device which caused the blast was most probably an unexploded anti-personnel improvised explosive device (IED) or mine not consistent with ammunition used by Canadian Forces (CF) personnel. The CFNIS is confident that further detailed analysis of the evidence by forensic laboratories will validate the preliminary findings ….”

Nothing I can find from the Taliban yet. - a bit more here.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Apparently ... but not much in the way of proof to that effect.  The Afghan people we need to convince .... aren't

Nor will they be.........openly. They likely know without a doubt it wasn't us, but that doesn't fit their agenda. Ergo, no matter our proof, they'll never accept it.